Why does home brew make me squiffy?

[kelper]

Well, my beer had two weeks in FV then two weeks in PB. Then a few days somewhere cold before I started drinking it.

 

[The Baron]

I don't think this is the reason in your case but I once had a corny in the kegerator and it slightly froze so when I pulled a pint it was concentrated (freeze distillation as they call it) I was oblivious to this until SWMBO started talking bollocks after 3 pints. I found out the next day when I noticed it had been dispensing slow the night before on opening the corny I was expecting a blockage but found a iceberg in the bottom

 

[Ajhutch]

When I read the OP my immediate thought was ‘fusel alcohol’ and they did eventually pop up around post 40!! That’s generally a fermentation temperature thing especially in abnormal strength beer. What temperature did you ferment at?

 

[kelper]

When I read the OP my immediate thought was ‘fusel alcohol’ and they did eventually pop up around post 40!! That’s generally a fermentation temperature thing especially in abnormal strength beer. What temperature did you ferment at?

18 to 21

 

[Ajhutch]

Hmm I’d be surprised if wherry is giving fusel at that range. Having said that, it can also be caused by other stresses on yeast for example not enough yeast. Until @Chippy_Tea messaged them enough times they weren’t putting enough yeast in the kits and lots were getting stuck fermentation as a result, possible that you got a small yeast pack and fusel as a result.

 

[kelper]

There were two packets of yeast and FG was 1012.

 

[Oneflewover]

the garden of the Square and Compass drinking Charlie's cider on more than one occasion

Ahhhh, the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers! If there is a better pub in existence I haven't been in it. Food menu = either pie or pastie with a choice of red or brown sauce.

 

[DrGMc]

propanol
isobutanol
amylalcohol
But do these also make you tipsy?

again OMG YES - as opposed to straight drunk with ethanol these higher alcohol generally don't clear so quickly in the body so last longer and can give you a nasty head ... - again I'll need to dig at some literature but they are not really desirable as alcohols apart from aroma / flavour they can impart to the brew

 

[DrGMc]

well if anybody is interested I have some nerdy references now and will send them if asked (they are boring ). I'll try and condense the common and most appropriate bits into an answer as to why some people get squiffy quicker than others but there are so many factors its not easy to pin down any "exact" why for any given individual. You'll have to guess what might be causing yours ...

 

[kelper]

Please send to me - I like reading!

 

[An Ankoù]

Ahhhh, the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers! If there is a better pub in existence I haven't been in it. Food menu = either pie or pastie with a choice of red or brown sauce.

You exaggerate, sir. I don't remember there being any pies on offer. But there was something other than pies, can't remember what, possibly something veggie.
And it is the best pub in the world. Unfortunately swamped by grockles twelve months out of twelve, nowadays.

 

[Oneflewover]

You exaggerate, sir. I don't remember there being any pies on offer. But there was something other than pies, can't remember what, possibly something veggie.
And it is the best pub in the world. Unfortunately swamped by grockles twelve months out of twelve, nowadays.

The last couple of times I've been have been at lunchtime in the middle of the week outside of school holidays. Very few if any grockles. Bliss! Lovely walk down to the quarries / dancing ledge too

 

[An Ankoù]

The last couple of times I've been have been at lunchtime in the middle of the week outside of school holidays. Very few if any grockles. Bliss! Lovely walk down to the quarries / dancing ledge too

Shh. We don't want more of them down there. I always found Winspit dead scary to explore the caves. Always thought they'd fall on my head!

 

[SANGER_A2]

I too definitely feel the effect of homebrew ale/lager more than commercial ale/lager even at similarly calculated abv. I brew in a temperature controlled brew fridge set to a degree or two either side of the lowest recommended temp on kits (usually about 18). My controller regulates the air temperature in the fridge and I measure the beer temperature too and that's normally a degree or two higher than the fridge air temperature because of the fermentation process.

I assumed this was low enough to avoid fusel alcohols. Am I wrong then?

Maybe DrGmc you could put the docs on Onedrive or something and post a link only members can see...

 

[DCBC]

I'm a seasoned drinker*. I enjoy a couple of GT's before dinner, maybe a glass of wine with dinner and a single-malt whisky in the evening; but these don't make me light-headed, they just make me feel mellow. But a pint or two of Woodforde's Wherry or Norfolk Nog and I feel quite squiffy.

does anyone else experience this? Is there any explanation? I think it '''is related to how long the drink is held in the mouth, savouring the flavour, but that might be rubbish.

* only in Winter, Spring. Summer and Autumn.

Maybe our homebrew has more fusel alcohols etc? Less of a "clean" high than commercially produced drinks?

 

[SANGER_A2]

well if anybody is interested I have some nerdy references now and will send them if asked (they are boring ). I'll try and condense the common and most appropriate bits into an answer as to why some people get squiffy quicker than others but there are so many factors its not easy to pin down any "exact" why for any given individual. You'll have to guess what might be causing yours ...

DrGMc kindly shared the files with me and I've hosted them here for y'all.

Spoiler: Link

• alcohol and metabolism #1.pdf
• US dept of health alcohol metabolism.pdf
• British medial journal alcohol metabolism.pdf

And I've added a link to a hugely detailed webpage I found about fusel alcohols here. If you don't want to read the whole thing, search on the page for the text "summary" and there is a nice table.

 

[Gunge]

It's down to the presence of hops... a natural soporific and related to cannabis. Getting wasted on beer is very different to getting wasted on other alcoholic beverages.

 

[Drunkula]

It's down to the presence of hops

Yeah, but there's tons of hops in some commercial brews and if their homebrew wasn't anything special for them it's something else.

I like this idea, though, because Punk IPA is the only beer I've come across that doesn't get me silly drunk like mostly everything else. It's a more dank thing happening.